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To help remember their dreams, many people keep a notebook, a dream journal, next to the bed for capturing dreams with a pen or pencil. Keeping a dream journal helps so much that many experts consider it essential for accurately remembering dreams.

Many dreamers recommend using a lighted pen, so as not to disturb anyone else sleeping in the same room. Using a lighted pen keeps you from having to turn on the light, which allows you to stay closer to the drowsy dream state. That also helps in dream recall.

The moment you awaken, before getting out of bed, is the ideal time to write down your dream, even if you only have time to record the date, name the dream, and jot a few notes. Studies show that moving around tends to awaken you fully and usually hinders dream recall.

Not everyone remembers their dreams on first waking. And some have to dash off to work with no spare minutes to stop and write. But that’s OK. Just write down as much as you can remember about your dream as soon as you can.

Dream expert Robert Moss says people often remember dreams in bits and pieces, so by naming your dream and jotting a few notes, you start the process, and you can add details about the dream later, as you recall them.

Write down everything you remember, without interpreting it, even if it does not seem to make sense. Often, the odd details or parts that do not seem to fit in or make sense contain the most valuable information.

Even the tiniest detail in your dream may be important and should be considered when analyzing your dreams. Look closely at all the people, animals, objects, places, emotions, and even the colors and numbers in your dreams.

Ask yourself, “What does this remind me of?” Write down the first thing that comes to your mind. A real situation in your life may be symbolized in the dream. If you recognize a real-life situation in a dream, ask yourself, “How did situation make me feel?”

Often when there is more than one scene or story line in your dream, there are several issues your subconscious is trying to tell you about. But it can also mean that your inner self is trying several different ways to convey the same information with different symbolism.

Dreams often have multiple, layered meanings. The same dream can be telling you several things, or showing you similarities between seemingly unrelated situations in your life. Taking time to understand your dreams can be extremely enlightening.

For more tips, see Remembering Your Dreams, Part 2. (Watch for it on September 11.)

Robert Moss, the dream researcher, teacher and author that I keep talking about, has a radio show on dreams! You can listen over the Internet on the second Tuesday of each month, from 11 am to noon Central Time.

Here is the link: http://www.healthylife.net/RadioShow/archiveWD.htm

There is even an 800 number so that you can call in with questions during the show as he interviews other dreamworkers and dream researchers. 

What a blessing for all of us!

The best book on interpreting dreams is the one you write yourself. Oh yeah, I’m talking about recording your dreams again. When you read back over dreams from past months and years, you can start to see patterns, and your dreams start to make more sense to you. The meanings start to be more clear.

One of the blessings of having a weekly metaphysical discussion group is that people remind you of things you once knew but have forgotten. And they give you brand new ideas from their own experience, too.

This week the topic was magical journals, which are simply records of everything magical or metaphysical that you do, what the conditions were at the time, and any results that you know of.

Some people are intimidated by the idea of journaling. They think of it as having to write every single day, and having to write formally and well. So I brought a couple of books on art journaling to show that journals can be anything you want them to be.

I recommended getting a sketchbook or notebook to carry everywhere and write down whatever you want to remember, including dreams. I brought a few of my own messy sketchbooks as examples. 

I also repeated what dream expert and author Robert Moss says, that if you take time to jot down whatever dream memories you have during the day, you can remember whole dreams bit by bit. And I stressed that the book you take everywhere is the book you have with you when you have a few moments and something to write.

Dave, who is a computer guy as well as a metaphysician, does his journaling on line. That’s a great idea if you are at the computer all the time.

We all talked about recording dreams and other events in magical journals, and we had a great time. People seemed to like the idea of combining dream journaling with other kinds of journaling, lecture notes, or whatever, and always being prepared to capture ideas and memories.

Becky had some great ideas keeping dream records and other topics separated in the same book.

Karen decided that all journals are magical journals because they are filled with thought-forms of ours that can become real. Like dreams that come true. Dreams as magical thought-forms. As though writing them down makes dreams more real.

What Karen said reminds me of a saying that was handed down in my family: “Tell a dream before breakfast, and it will come true.” We were always careful not to tell bad dreams till after we had eaten.

It is not the same as writing dreams down, I know. But telling about dreams does make them seem more real. Eating first allowed time for scary dreams to fade a little—to seem less real (and less scary) to us. Having friends or family to share your ideas and dreams with? What a blessing!

But remember, the very best dream book is still the one you write yourself.

Some people say that they do not dream, but that is an illusion. We all dream. Some of us do not remember our dreams. Certain things can interfere with dreaming, such as being constantly awakened, or taking certain kinds of medications.  

Constant Awakening Prevents Dreaming 

As you probably know, there are several levels of sleep. Most dreaming, the dreams we remember, occur during the so-called rapid-eye-movement (REM) levels of sleep.

Unfortunately it takes our bodies anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes to reach the first REM cycle of the night. If you are awakened before that, when you go back to sleep, the process starts over. 

Sleep laboratory researchers have found that by awakening people over and over before they reach the REM cycle, they can keep people from dreaming—at night. After awhile, though, people start dreaming uncontrollably with their eyes wide open. In other words, without being allowed to dream, they start to hallucinate. 

If your only choice is to try to sleep in a noisy or insecure environment, your sleep cycles may be short-circuited by constantly being awakened before you get to dream. Medical residents or interns and others who only get to doze while on call in hospitals for days at a time are good examples of this kind of sleep deprivation. 

Stop Suddenly Awakening

If you can do without the jarring sudden awakening caused by an alarm clock, studies show, you are more likely to remember your dreams. If someone in the household can quietly awaken you, that could replace the alarm. Best practice is to get enough sleep (always a good health idea) and allow yourself to awaken naturally. 

Stay still for a few moments when you first wake up. Spend that time gently allowing yourself to recall any dreams. 

Check Your Medications

If you take sleeping pills, you may be suppressing your dreams—or suppressing the memory of them. If you can learn to sleep without pills, you will have a better chance of remembering your dreams. 

Some other medications may interfere with dreaming. Unfortunately they may be something you cannot safely do without. Remembering your dreams is valuable, but no one is suggesting that you risk your health over it.

Still, if you are doing the other things suggested in this article, and you still can’t remember your dreams, you might consider asking your doctor if another medication would do the same job without the side effect of suppressing your dreams. If you plan to do that, I suggest doing a bit of on-line research on the negative health effects of dream suppression and presenting those to your doctor. That way s/he will be more likely to take you seriously.

Form the Intent to Remember

Research shows that just the act of regularly trying to recall your dreams daily and making an attempt to write them down encourages your mind to remember them. It is as though you are proving to your subconscious mind that you are willing to pay attention, and so it tries harder to reach you.

Dream recall may not happen immediately. It could take a few days, weeks, or even months. But if you make a habit of trying to remember your dreams, and you make brief notes of any dream feelings or ideas you do recall, gradually your dreams will start to come back to you. 

Writing Down Your Dreams 

Any notebook will do to record your dreams. Maybe the term “dream journaling” sounds pretentious or time-consuming to you. If so, consider just carrying a plain little notebook all the time. You can reserve it from dream notation, or you can use it for other things, too. The important thing is to do it.

Robert Moss, who teaches people to work with their dreams, says to jot down whatever wisp of dream memory you have when you first wake up if possible. But he also says that bits of dream memory may come to you at any time of the day, so you should be prepared to jot down whatever you can whenever you remember it. By doing that, he says, you often end up remembering the whole dream.

Never Give Up on Your Dreams

Remember that we all dream. If your circumstances can be changed to make dreaming and dream recall easier for you now, do so. Make sure your bed is comfortable and the room is quiet. (Falling asleep in front of the TV is not helpful!)

If you cannot change your current circumstances, sometimes they change themselves. The baby learns to sleep through the night, the doctor changes your prescription, the noisy neighbor moves away, and so on. 

Meanwhile, never give up. We all naturally dream. And we can almost all learn to remember our dreams. It just takes a little more work for some of us than for others.

Remembering your dreams is worth the effort. It can be an aid to mental and physical health. It can also be entertaining and enlightening. 

Sweet Dreams to Paulie and to You

This post was inspired by a comment Paulie made about the post that said orienting your bed north-south (instead of east-west) increases dreaming. Somehow, although I can see the comment in the control panel area of this blog, it has not shown up on the page with the post. So I want to say thank you to Paulie for the comment.

Please keep trying to remember your dreams. It is worth the effort. 

And thank you to all the other readers of blog, too, especially those who take the time to comment. I consider all of you to be a real blessing.

Sweet dreams.

Conscious Dreaming by Robert Moss is currently my favorite book on dreams and dreamwork. You can see that my copy is pretty battered. I not only use it; I also carry it around and share it with others.

Born in Australia, Moss has recorded, studied and followed his dreams for decades. His dreams led him to England and then to the United States, from a career as a successful journalist and best-selling novelist to a teacher of dreamwork and author of dream books.

His dreams even led him to buy a particular house in a particular town in Upstate New York. Then they led him to Native American elders who could help interpret them. The elders told him that he was dreaming the traditional shamanic dreams of their people.

Moss’s books are clearly and simply written, easy to read, and filled with vivid, true stories of people and their dreams. There are lucid dreams, shamanic dreams, and dreams of future events.

Best of all, he explains clearly how to work with our dreams, how to help others interpret their dreams, and how to work actively with dreams, going back into the dreams to get more information. It is amazing how so much information and instruction can be so entertaining to read.

Moss and his dream groups use a nine-step program for understanding and working dreams. They use contemporary techniques derived from indigenous cultures around the world. His method helps you understand your past, shape your future, get in touch with your deepest desires, and receive guidance from your higher self.

Moss believes that dreams prepare us for future events, so that we can avoid disasters or at least be prepared to cope with traumatic events. And he tells some compelling stories that seem to prove his point.

His skills as both a top journalist and a best-selling author show through in his writing. It is clear and easy to understand. You won’t notice his skill perhaps—this is not showy writing—but you will enjoy the book more and understand the concepts more easily because of it.

He takes ancient wisdom and methods that have stood the test of time and makes them easy for modern people to understand and use. That is quite an accomplishment, and he can do that because he has experienced it himself.

Robert Moss is not just reporting on other people’s ideas and experiences. He is a master of dreamwork (though very unassuming about it), and he is able to explain it so that we can understand it.

After reading any of Robert Moss‘s dream books (and you’ll be happy to know there are others), you will probably want to gather a few people into a group to work with dreams together. By following his instructions, you can do that—and have fun doing it.

If you do start your own dream group, or if you have one now that you work with, please stop by and leave a comment to let us know what you are doing and how it is going.

I hope to someday be able to take one of Robert Moss‘s dream workshops. Now that would be blessing! Meanwhile, I feel wonderfully blessed just to be reading his books.

Can a blog serve as a dream journal? Absolutely. Even if you remember pieces of dreams throughout the day, you can jot them down and add them in the evening before you go to sleep (so they don’t get lost or confused with that night’s dreams.

If you blog your dream journal, it’s best to keep it private. Dreams can be strange or embarrassing. You don’t want just anyone reading them. And you don’t want to have to censor yourself. You should be able to record your thoughts without worrying about other people reading them.

There are plenty places where you can create a blog for free, and you can keep it private, too. Of course, nothing is as private as a book that only you see. But, depending on who shares your household, the slight risk of having your blog hacked may be considerably less than the chance that someone at home will find your dream journal and read it.

Also, when you travel, you can post to your dream journal blog from anywhere that you can get computer access. There’s no need to take your dream journal and risk losing it.

The downside to online dream journaling is that you may not find it as easy to add sketches and color to your dream journal blog. But there are solutions.

At home or at work, you can use a scanner to quickly capture your sketches. On the road, you can use a digital camera with a good macro or document setting. You could even fax black-and-white sketches to your home email address. If all else fails, you can just bring home your dream sketches and recreate them in a paint or drawing program.

Other variations include keeping your dream journal in a word processor or page-layout file on your computer. That way you can carry it with you on on your laptop or on a removable storage device (a disk or thumb drive).

Consider also blogging your blessings. Gratitude has a way of making good dreams come true.

I consider the Internet to be a great blessing. WordPress, which I’m using to write this post, and Blogger are two of my favorite blessings these days.

You can set up a free blog at www.WordPress.com or www.Blogspot.com for whatever you want to write–whether public or private. And see if you find it to be a blessing, too.

To work with your dreams, you need to remember them. Yet dreams can be among the most elusive memories. Experts say that we forget most dreams within moments of waking (especially if we are awakened suddenly by an alarm and jump out of bed).

Capturing Dreams Before You Forget Them

The best way to capture your dreams is to write them down as soon as you wake up, before you get out of bed—if possible even before you sit up. That is because movement tends to cause you to forget them.

Some people keep a pad and paper beside the bed to capture dreams. Some use a penlight or lighted pen to keep from having to turn on a light. Some even write in the dark.

Dream Researchers Say to Record Your Dreams

Dream researchers advise keeping a daily dream journal, recording all your dreams for later analysis. Looking for overall patterns, such as repeated symbols or themes in your dreams is much easier if you record and keep them in one place, in order by date.

A dream journal can be a simple notebook, a sketchbook, or even loose sheets of paper. If you use loose sheets, it is best to store them in a ring-binder to protect them and keep them in order.

Finding Time for a Dream Journal

Some people say they have no time to write down their dreams when they wake up, but it need only take a few moments. According to dream expert Robert Moss, you do not have to write down every detail. He has found that simply jotting down the most important points will allow you to recall the dreams later, when you have time to write down or sketch more details.

Jotting down even a few notes during the day whenever you remember an impression from a dream can be useful. Often a dream that you did not recall when you first awoke will come back to you later bit by bit. By noting down those fleeting impressions as they occur, you may recall the entire dream.

Benefits of Keeping a Dream Journal

The value of dream journaling can be huge. Physicians and therapists have been able to diagnose serious problems by reading dream diaries of their patients. Unrecognized health problems or relationship issues often are clearly apparent in the journal.

Robert Moss, author of Conscious Dreaming, and Dreaming True, recommends rereading our dream journals for the insights they show us about our lives. Often, those who keep journals are able to recognize unnoticed patterns or themes in their own lives. Often that leads them to make beneficial changes in health habits or lifestyle to improve their lives.

An interesting side benefit of keeping a dream journal is that people often find that they have had prophetic dreams but forgotten them before the foreseen event occurred. In other cases, warning dreams have caused people to change their plans or persuade others to do so—and saved them from death or injury.